Product Details

• Actors: Ryan Seacrest, Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Kara DioGuardi
• Writers: Simon Fuller
• Producers: Cam Frierson
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, Limited Edition, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Capital Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: November 22, 2005
• Run Time: 360 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000B58D0S
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,756 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #8 in Movies & TV > DVD > TV Game Shows
• For more information about "American Idol - The Best & Worst of American Idol ( Limited Edition )" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Many millions adore it, many others probably wish it was illegal, but there's no denying the magnetic pull of American Idol on television viewers. Maybe it's that we can't avert our eyes from the train wreck that comprises about 90% of the contestants, or that we appreciate the heart and soul of the ones who are genuinely talented; or maybe we just love to hate house villain Simon Cowell and his caustic put-downs. Good, bad, or whatever, American Idol really is the phenomenon it claims to be. And with some ten hours of material spread out over three discs--there's so much stuff here that even the bonus features have bonus features--this overview of the first four seasons will surely satisfy even the most ardent fans.

Disc One, The Best Of, takes us from the first step in the process (the cattle-call try-outs so popular they need stadiums to accommodate all the hopefuls) through the initial auditions and interviews with judges Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Paula Abdul to the performances seen on the telecasts themselves--including those by eventual winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, and Carrie Underwood, as well as runners-up Bo Bice and Clay Aiken, among others. In other words, nothing unexpected. Indeed, for many viewers, Disc Two (The Worst Of) will likely be the favorite. For it is here that the set focuses on our fascination with the profoundly clueless, those utterly untalented folks who make us squirm with their outlandish self-delusion and willingness, nay eagerness, to humiliate themselves on TV (epitomized by William "She Bangs" Hung, the so-bad-he's-good sideshow that’s depressing on so many levels), only to then find themselves genuinely astonished and angry when they fail to make the cut. Finally, Disc Three includes an interview with Abdul, "homecoming" footage featuring Underwood and Bice, and additional interviews from the fourth season.

If American Idol has a dirty little secret (aside from Abdul's personal life), it's that the show hasn't produced a single artist with not just a good voice but an original one--a Norah Jones, an Alicia Keys, a John Mayer, someone can play and write as well as sing. But then, that's not what the show is about; we're frequently reminded that this is "a singing competition," pure and simple. Which brings us to what may well be this exhaustive (and perhaps exhausting, too) set's defining moment: When a particularly awful "singer" begs to do another tune, Cowell says, "There's only so much punishment a human being can take." Replies the contestant: "No, I can take a lot more." --Sam Graham

Product Description

BEST & WORST OF AMERICAN IDOL: SEASONS 1

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best & Worst of American Idol is all right here!, March 4, 2006

By 

Taylor Hodgkins "Whatchoo Talkin' 'Bout Willis?" (The 1980's) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Idol - The Best & Worst of American Idol ( Limited Edition ) (DVD)

I admit, season 5 is the first season of "American Idol" that I started watching it. I ran out to buy this set after I saw the permiere episode of season 5. I was a little spectical at first but Im glad I bought this. Great for a American Idol beginner [like me.] or a avid watcher. I reccomend buying the best and worst together because you get a great bouns disc. This set is one of the best purchases I've made in a long time.

Disc one

Disc one is "The Best of American Idol". It features all the winning Idols audtions {Kelly Clarkson,Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Burrino and Carrie Underwood} You also get the runner-up audtions {Justin Gurinni, Clay Akien, Diana DeGarmo and Bo Bice.} Plus featuretts on how the show is made, "Cuddles" a extremely funny {yet disturbing} short with Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell going on a date. "Your a Star" with montages of good and bad audtions. This disk is great if you want to see great Kelly Clarkson preformances. If you want to see bad audtions get the worst of.

Disc 2

Disc two is "The Worst of American Idol". With Paula Abdul taking us through, we have everyone's favorites. {Mary Roach, Tamika Bush, Scat Girl and more.} Not only will you get William Hung's "She Bangs" audtion but you also get a extended audtion and "She Bangs" proformed with dancers!!! Be sure to take asprin before you watch this disc. Winning and Fun, this disc will be your favorite.

Disc 3

Disc 3 only comes if you buy the "Best and Worst" together. If you are fans of season 4 this disc is totally for you. Packed with interviews with Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice, this disc is OK if you like Carrie. The interview with Carrie lasts about 42:00 and unless you are a mega Carrie fan you'll get a kick out of the interviews. Bo Bice is very funny. I am a big Bice fan and I was so happy to see the Bicer in action! His interview was very very funny. The best feature on the disc is the "Carrie and Bo return home" feature. This feature allows viewers to go in-deph to where Carrie and Bo grew up. {The most winning thing on the disc is watching Bo return home!}

This is the number 1 thing for an American Idol fan to have. You won't be able to live without it. The only thing that bugs me is Carrie's profomance of "Could've Been" by Tiffany isn't here. There could've been more Consentine moments here. I think you only get one preformance from him. That's ok, Buy this now!!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Forget the worst of "American Idol," this one is for Carrie Underwood's fans, January 20, 2006

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: American Idol - The Best & Worst of American Idol ( Limited Edition ) (DVD)

The best thing about "American Idol: The Best & Worst of American Idol (Limited Edition) is not that Paula Abdul is "hosting" the three DVDs rather than Ryan Seacrest, but that all of the Worst bits are on the second of the three DVDs. After watching over an hour Keith Beukelaer and those who cannot sing and Tamika Bush and those who want to argue with the judges, I had to proceed to the third disc. I can only take so much, because I do not watch "American Idol" to see people humiliated, I watch it to see people who can sing learn how to perform in front of millions of viewers. Watching the premier of "American Idol V" this week I was totally disgusted by how not the judges but the producers of the show further ridiculed a young man with gender issues by playing the theme from "The Crying Game" underneath his post-audition meltdown. I really think those who audition and are given a hard reality check by the judges need to be venting at the producers who set them up and not Randy, Paula and Simon. At least William Hung brings a smile to your face for the right reasons, but he is really the only reason to go back and watch anything on the worst disc.

That is why I liked being able to see the complete auditions for the top two contestants from the show's first four seasons. Seeing the judges me impressed is always a lot more fun than watching them come up with minor variations on telling somebody they are terrible. Yes, it would be nice to see more of the memorable performances, but they do get beyond the winners and the winning moments from each season (Kelly Clarkson squealing and crying through "A Moment Like This" is still the best of those, although Fantasia's "I Believe" has its moments too). But "Breaking' Up is Hard to Do" was Ruben Studdard's best performance, and you can say the same for Clay Aiken's "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Fantasia Barrino's "Summertime," Bo Bice's a cappella "In a Dream," and Carrie Underwood's "Alone." They also get beyond the winners, so that you have Tamyra Gray's "Feel the Fire" and Constantine Maroulis' "My Funny Valentine." But you do end up with the eight auditions, nineteen featured performances, to go along with recaps of the seasons (the first three are dealt with together and then season four). There is also the infamous Paula and Simon kissing/nightmare bit (but not the spoof on the big stir about Paula from last year).

The third disc has an extensive interview with Carrie Underwood (the girl knows how to tell stories and the one about not being sure she wanted to actually get on an airplane and fly away from Chekotah is about as endearing as you can get), along with a follow up one with her and interviews with Bo Bice, Vonzell Solomon, and Constantine Maroulis. Then there are "extended never-before seen footage" of Carrie and Bo on their return trips home shortly before the 2005 "American Idol" was crowned. Then the finale is an exclusive Paula Abdul interview where she discusses her experience on the show and her relationships with the contestants and other judges. The interviews alone run close to two hours, so the bonus disc is not a skimpy throw-in. All things considered, fans of Carrie Underwood will be very happy with what they get to see of her on this disc. It even leads you to not only hope but actually believe that life in the big cities and the fast lane will not change this small town girl. She is definitely the star on this disc and makes up for the fact the "Worst" disc brings the overall rating of this collection down.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best of American Idol!, February 17, 2007

By 

Anthony Ortiz "Danny" (Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Idol - The Best & Worst of American Idol ( Limited Edition ) (DVD)

Well, I've been a HUGE fan of American Idol ever since the beggining. When I heard that they were releasing a 3 disc DVD, I was ecstatic. I thought that I would finally be able to get all those classic performances on DVD, but when I got this, I have to say that I was very dissapointed. Now, this does have SOME of those really great performances. like "Respect" by Kelly Clarkson, "Summertime" by Fantasia, and "Alone" by Carrie Underwood, among a few others, but there are definitley quite a few missing. For example, where is Jasmine Trias' performance of "Inseperable"? and they put Diana DeGarmo's performance of "Enough is Enough" but did not put her signature song "Don't Cry Out Loud", what gives? they also miss a bunch of other great performances, like "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" by Kimberley Locke, "Circle of Life" by Jennifer Hudson" and "This is the Night" by Clay Aiken. While I'll admit that this is a must have for an American Idol fan, I just hope that if they come out with another box set, they will re-think it and REALLY put the best of American Idol.